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lampiaio OP t1_jds9irl wrote

This was done using Space Engine.

Looking at this, I can't help but wonder what influence the presence of such a big celestial body would have on any civilizations that may exist over there. Either way, it's so cool that they don't have to wait until Andromeda arrives to have such a breathtaking view.

For comparison, the Andromeda galaxy is about 2.5 million light years away from the Milky Way, while the Large Magellanic Cloud is only 161 thousand light years away from us.

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thawed_froyo t1_jdunvwz wrote

I hadn’t read up on the Large Magellanic Cloud before. From Wikipedia:

> The LMC has a wide range of galactic objects and phenomena that make it known as an "astronomical treasure-house, a great celestial laboratory for the study of the growth and evolution of the stars", per Robert Burnham Jr. Surveys of the galaxy have found roughly 60 globular clusters, 400 planetary nebulae and 700 open clusters, along with hundreds of thousands of giant and supergiant stars. > > Supernova 1987A—the nearest supernova in recent years—was in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Lionel-Murphy SNR (N86) nitrogen-abundant supernova remnant was named by astronomers at the Australian National University's Mount Stromlo Observatory, acknowledging Australian High Court Justice Lionel Murphy's interest in science and its perceived resemblance to his large nose.

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